If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

A solid Tig welder requires some skill to make a strong weld. A monkey can make a decent weld with a Mig unit. While your learning to be a good tig welder you will need a mig unit to patch stuff up until you get the skills to not need the mig unit. When that day comes and you are welding anything and everything with your tig unit the mig unit becomes a very good shelf for all the tig consumeables.

One of the most respected car guy welders in these parts uses only tig, and an old Miller one at that. When asked why he doesnít get a more up to date welder he just shrugs and says his old company who he worked for is on their 3rd tig machine and his welder (who he bought from them when he went out on his own) just keeps plugging along.
He builds a lot of sports car headers. He says he can do everything in his shop he needs to do with this one machine. When called to go on location he will use a portable tig machine and a tent if he has to.
Tig does have a steeper learning curve but if your wifeís uncle can give you a little help Iíd definitely go tig.

Welding history 101

Originally Posted by metalmeltr

Tradionaly, I mean 20 years ago, an O/A torch wasused for brazing panels in place, but with todays hss body panels that process is no longer recomended due to essesive work hardening. Then came the mig welder and every thing changed, paels could be welded much faster and much stronger, and that was the standard in all shops for years. Then came the tig welder and thinner panels could be welded easily along with aluminum(migs could do aluminum but it was un- common).

That's not a correct portrayal of the state of the industry as a whole. Sure some of the muffler and body shops with less money never stepped up beyond O/A, but that's the exception rather than the rule. I remember when I was a young punk (wow over 20 years ago) and it seemed like every auto business had a MIG welder. And they were generally 10 year old units!

MIG has been around in body shops since the 1960's, about 20 years after it was invented, which means it's been common for over 40 years.

TIG has been around even longer, first commonly used to weld aluminum and magnesium airframes during World War II when it was called "heliarc," and becoming widespread in industry by about 1950 - almost 60 years ago. Not every body shop had them (or even has them now), but they certainly didn't just come around!

Anyway, for the newbie - get a MIG and master it before stepping up to TIG. It's about like riding a bike vs. riding a unicycle. It's not as fast as a bicycle, it's much harder to ride, has a steep learning curve, but man can you do things with it that a bicycle just can't! And you'll impress your friends, too!

80% of failures are from 20% of causesNever compromise your principles today in the name of furthering them in the future."All I ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work." -Sgt. Bilko"We are generally better persuaded by reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others." -Pascal"Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything." -Pascal

Try .023 MIG wire on body panels

If you are looking at a MIG machine try the MM180 or MM252. Both machines have good voltage control when compared to a tap-style welder like the MM212. Some .023 wire could be best for 22g to 16g and .035 wire for 14g and thicker. Don't try to feed .023 wire through a standard MIG gun longer than 12 feet. Ten feet would really be ideal for the little wire. Try using a 2# or 10# roll of wire for household projects.
The steel has to be much cleaner for TIG welding and doesn't work very good on galvanized items due to spatter.

I agree, you have the uncle with the fancy tig, why duplicate and mig is really the workhorse for most small shops. I have a specialized need for a tig but its the least used process in the shop and more and more with spool gun I could pretty much get by without it. Collects a lot of dust while the migs get used every day.